What deters you from riding in bad weather conditions.

Being old I can find lots of reasons to not go out. But I never liked to ride when I was out of control: Ice, snow, lack of visibility.

I remember riding in the rain in heavy traffic when I could hardly see the road. I remember riding 30-40mph in the fog when I could just see a patch of the wheel of the bike in front of me. I did not like either situation but the options were not that great.

I will ride in most weather conditions as long as the road conditions are OK. As soon as there is a layer of slush or ice on the road and traction is limited then I stay indoors.

The biggest deterrents to riding in foul weather are logistics - laundry in particular.

Any rain, snow, ice, and I'm training inside. I don't like the reduced traction and hate having to spend an hour cleaning my bike after. Temps below 25 and I'm indoors too, especially if its real windy

I avoid riding when there's fresh snow on the road, but when it's raining just let a few psi out of the tires and make sure I have a red tail light blinking even if it's daytime. I have a removable rear fender but often space off installing it and only remember the damn thing when my ass starts getting wet.

Usually the only downside is having to clean the bike afterwards as I live in an apartment building so it's a pain in the butt to hose down. It's always easiest to clean her right after the ride so the dirt doesn't get to dry and cement itself to the frame and into the nooks and crannies.

Originally Posted by danfoz
Usually the only downside is having to clean the bike afterwards

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+1

The fact that I am a wuss. Gotta just "man up" and do it more. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Yeah and all your gear is soaked too. Anyone else feel like they're in a movie montage when riding in the rain? I like to get my rocky on!

Wind - demoralising. Snow/ice - dangerous No problem riding in rain.

I live on a sandbar that stretches 70 miles into the ocean. Wind? I have your wind right here, and if I didn't ride in it, I'd ride like 5 days a year. And it makes up for the fact that this sandbar doesn't have any real hills.

Only if the crosswind gusts make handling dangerous---that's when I won't do it.

oh yeah ice is a real bummer!

I feel okay riding in rain, as long as it's not a thunderstorm or it makes the roads bad. Not worth putting my life in danger. Strong wind is another issue, but it really has to be blowing hard for me to not ride!

Originally Posted by mpre53
I live on a sandbar that stretches 70 miles into the ocean. Wind? I have your wind right here, and if I didn't ride in it, I'd ride like 5 days a year. And it makes up for the fact that this sandbar doesn't have any real hills.

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The 3 H's: Heat, Hills, and Headwinds... many riders hate them. Learning to love them (while knowing many others don't) can be an advantage in competition, that is if one believes in the psychological aspect of the sport. That goes for adverse weather conditions too, on the downside I know the fellas lining up at the start on a rainy day in early spring are usually the tougher guys on my local scene.

Rain is cool. That's what Mudguards and raincoats are for.

Snow is ok as long as the roads are safe enough. That's what Warm Cloves and lots of Layers are for or CX and mountain bikes if money permits.

Dark is ok, that's what Lights are for.

Headwinds are fine, that just makes it easier on the way home and makes a training ride a tough training ride.


Crosswinds and Gusts that push me into oncoming traffic even though I'm steering and leaning in the opposite direction, then causing the bike to snap back and mount the grass verge while also aggravating motorists in rush hour traffic. That's where I draw the line.


One other factor that deters me from riding in heavy heavy rain is I once broke my Power Meter. The replacement seems to be good and has survived a harsh winter so far but I still get nervous.

I'd say the best thing to counteract the harsh winter months (but not windy >25mph and strong gusts) would be a bombproof winter bike. Not something I have.

In regards to me. I'll get warmer when I get home. I'll patch up if I skid and fall. But I wont recover from getting run over due to being out of control of the bike (again WIND!!!)

Originally Posted by danfoz
Usually the only downside is having to clean the bike afterwards as I live in an apartment building so it's a pain in the butt to hose down.

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Something often overlooked when my mates don't go riding and I think wuss'

If one lives on a second floor or doesn't have somewhere to just dump the bike its often not an appealing prospect to slog the bike up and down while drenched and its dripping everywhere.

Cant stress the importance in the winter of having somewhere warm to roll into get out of the wet clothes.


Also a good point I saw above. Having to dry things.. what a PITA in the winter. By its nature everything gets drenched but there is no sunshine to dry them... and naturally no winter cycling apparel can be tumbled. I think most of us would agree a winter ride is relatively as enjoyable as a summer ride. But it has allot more fallout.

I never ride in snow, ice or when the roads are salty. Too much risk of a crash in snow and ice. If I want exercise in that weather I have snowshoes and skate skis. When the roads are white with salt or covered with salty water, I don't ride as I don't want to trash my bearings and other components.

Given that I am now retired I don't do long rides in the rain - I can wait for the rain to stop!

The only time I don't ride is when it is cold and windy. I am fine with cold by itself, but when it is cold and windy, I have had the tendency to get sick.

I don't like the wet and the cold (uncanny! , but it depends how wet and how cold.

I'm in Melbourne, Aus, so if the weather is ****, there will invariably be a much better day around the corner, even in the middle of Winter, so I take a day off if it's horrid.

I hate riding indoors, so I usually skip really wet days. We don't get that many really rainy days -- and rarely have consecutive days of heavy rain -- so I don't mind skipping the odd day.

The average max temperature in July is 13.5 (56F), so we can easily ride all year. A typical cold day here in the Winter is about 10 to 12 degrees C (about 50F), which may slip down to 8 or 9 in the early evening, which is when I ride. We may have the occasional day or two each Winter where hail and the Antarctic winds keep the max temp below around 8C; that's what we call a REALLY cold day.

We have plenty of mild Winter days that are around 13 to 16C; even slightly warmer.

I don't mind strong wind.

The cold starts to annoy me once the temperature dips below about 7 or 8C. If I lived in a colder climate, I would suck it up and get used to riding in cooler weather, but I don't, so I don't have to. Ha.

Heavy rain really bothers (as I said), especially when there's stacks of road spray, and it's cold.

I will often ride when we have scattered/passing showers, even in the middle of Winter, coz the road doesn't get too wet.

I also ride of wet-ish days if I can start if the dry and warm up good and proper.

Eh....more later. I forgot why I came here

SALT. I hate having to come home and have to wash the salt off my bike and then relube.

In university in Saskatoon Saskatchewan Canada, I rode my bike to school for about 3 km every month except January. -20C was my limit. However, it was a department store back with plain pedals, so I could wear thick shoes or boots, and I didn't care about the bike.

Now, with a quality road bike and clipless pedals, I don't ride in colder than +10C because my feet get cold with only neoprene covers (I don't have winter shoes), and I don't ride in the wet regardless of temperature since it is too much trouble to clean/maintain it afterwards.